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The Washington region is no stranger to acronyms. It might be the international capital of acronyms, considering how frequently they are used in the federal government, military, medical and high-tech communities around here.

Those who are new to the area also have to contend with real estate acronyms and lingo, which present their own challenges.

Perhaps you are already up with terminology such as WU/ATT (walk-up attic), CMPT (trash compactor) and WI/CLST (walk-in closet).

But how about zero lot line, Regulation Z and “sailboat water”?

“Sailboat water is one we use a lot in our area, but many Realtors aren’t familiar with it,” says Pat Savani, regional manager for Champion Realty in Annapolis. “It means the water is deep enough for a sailboat. Another one we see is ‘right side of the bridge.’”

No, there isn’t a “left side” of the bridge on the other side. Apparently, the “right side” is the one that allows you to sail to the Chesapeake Bay without having to go under the bridge.

“Another one I love is COHOC,” Mrs. Savani says. “It means that the sale would be contingent on the seller finding the home of their choice. As an agent, I know right away what that means, but it isn’t immediately obvious to many home buyers.”

While the language of buying and selling homes is foreign to many who haven’t done it before, the lingo of financing a home purchase adds complications.

“The terminology of finance changes all the time,” says Mrs. Savani. “We weren’t even talking about ‘rate buydowns’ a few years ago, but now it’s all about ‘3-2-1’ or ‘2-1’ buy-downs.”

On top of the challenges presented by the lingo of real estate and home finance, the Washington area is an increasingly international area. Many buyers and sellers are still getting used to English, which can make the language of real estate even more puzzling.

“We have buyers who speak Korean, Vietnamese, Farsi and so on,” Mrs. Savani says. “Now, I do have agents who are fluent in all these languages, but to translate the nuances of real estate and finance is an added challenge. MRIS [Metropolitan Regional Information Services] is working toward providing language options in the system … but you really have to understand the nuances of a language to translate legal terminology accurately.”

For a comprehensive glossary, consult the Glossary of Real Estate Terms in this section.

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